Franklin teen wins state science fair

In a project that won first prize at a state science fair earlier this month, local teenager Dylan Martin sought to document the effects controlled doses of "alarm" pheromones have on red harvester ants.

In a project that won first prize at a state science fair earlier this month, local teenager Dylan Martin sought to document the effects controlled doses of "alarm" pheromones have on red harvester ants.

A junior at the Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Martin expected that exposing the ants to the pheromones, chemicals released by organisms to influence behavior or biology, would spark some sort of reaction.

What the 16-year-old science whiz did not expect, though, was that there would be a limit to the response.

Martin presented the findings of his project, titled "Red with Rage," at the Massachusetts State Science Fair held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where it won first place.

For about nine months starting in September, he administered controlled doses of the pheromones to the insects and recorded the effects, which he reviewed with video analysis software. The experiments took place at his Franklin home.

Martin said he used the crushed heads of frozen ants to produce the pheromones because it would have been too dangerous to work with the pure chemical form at his house.

"The pheromones are used to cause different behavior," he explained. "And that’s how they will communicate what they need done in a colony."

As if controlling the insects with his mind, he was able to induce the ants to go into an alarm mode.

"They go into a frenzy," he said. "They run at high speeds in a lot of different directions."

Throughout his research, Martin wondered if an increased amount of pheromone would lead to a more intense response from the ants.

"It does cause a more intense response," he concluded, "but only to a certain point."

That adding more pheromones did not result in the ants speeding up or reacting more erratically surprised Martin.

"I haven’t seen anything in (scientific) literature about the limit being present in the intensity," he said.

The project, Martin said, will have implications on the study of different pheromones in different species, perhaps even in humans.

Before the state science fair, he'd only participated in local contests. So being honored at that level was exciting, he said.

"I was really, really happy," said Martin. "There was a lot of work that went into the project, so it was awesome being recognized like that."

His father, Lee Martin, said the project consumed the entire family.

"We became very knowledgeable about the red harvester ants," Lee Martin said.

Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattTotaMDN.